As a rule a man's a fool,
When it's hot he wants it cool,
When it's cool he wants it hot,
Always wanting what is not;
therefore, I affirm,
As a rule a man's a fool!
-Anonymous
katagelophobia: An irrational dread of being ridiculed, criticized, or "put down", and embarrassed in social situations.
kathisomania, cathisomania: A compulsion to sit down.
kathisophobia, cathisophobia: An excessive fear of sitting down.
kenophobia: An abnormal fear of open spaces, of emptiness, or of barren spaces.
keraunophobia, ceraunophobia: An excessive fear of thunder and lightning; to such a degree that such phobics will not go outdoors on days when thunderstorms are possible because they visualize themselves being fatally struck by lightning.
In the summer, thunderstorm phobics listen intently to weather forecasts and besiege many a metereological bureau with a stream of anxious inquiries about the weather. When thunder is forecast in a few hours' time, they avoid going out doors.
These phobics long for winter with its rarity of thunderstorms. During a thunderstorm, they may cower under the bedclothes or in a closet until it is well over and they may even become incontinent.
keraunothnetophobia: An abnormal fear of being hit by man-made satellites.
kill: dacnomania
kinesomania: A compulsion for movement; an excessive desire to be on the move.
kinesophobia, kinetopophobia: An excessive fear of movement.
Some people who have balance problems or inner-ear disorders may have a greater fear of motion because of their reduced ability to physically adjust to it.
kings: See regiphobia
kissing: See philemaphobia
klazomania: In psychiatry, a compulsion to shout or uncontrollable shouting; usually a motor discharge phenomenon based on mesencephalic or other central nervous system irritation.
kleptomania: Once known as klopemania. An irresistible tendency to steal in which a person steals not because of necessity but as a result of some compulsion. Also see cleptomania.
The individual experiences a rising subjective sense of tension before the theft and feels pleasure, gratification, or relief when committing the theft. The objects are stolen despite the fact that they are typically of little value to the individual, who could have afforded to pay for them and often gives them away or discards them.
Occasionally the person may hoard the stolen objects or even secretly return them. Although individuals with this disorder will generally avoid stealing when immediate arrest is probable (e.g., in full view of a police officer), they usually don't preplan the thefts or fully take into account the chances of apprehension.
The stealing is done without assistance from, or collaboration with, others. Kleptomania is a rare condition that appears to occur in fewer than 5% of identified shoplifters. It is reported to be much more common in females.
kleptophobia: 1. An excessive fear of thieves or of a loss of property as a result of thievery. 2. An intense fear of becoming a kleptomaniac.
klopemania: An older form of kleptomania.
knowledge: epistemophobia, gnosiophobia, sophomania, sophophobia
koinoniphobia: An irrational dread of being in a room full of people.
Many who have this social phobia may fear ridicule by others, abhor being closed in apparently without escape, or are repulsed by some type of social embarrassment; such as, having to use the bathroom, fainting in front of others, vomiting, or of being stared at while eating.
kolpophobia: A horror about genitals, particularly female genitals.
koniophobia, koniphobia: An excessive concern about dust.
kopophobia: A dread of fatigue, exhaustion; or an apprehension of mental or physical exhaustion; because of weakness, possible fainting, and therefore being powerless or out of control.
krauomania: A tic (nervous twitch) marked by rhythmic movements.
kymophobia, cymophobia: A panic regarding waves that may be related to a fear of motion, water, or of landscapes in which water and leaves are prominent.
kynophobia: An abnormal terror of someone, or something, that is assumed to have rabies. This also results in a dread of dogs.
kyphophobia: An excessive dread of stooping that may be related to fears of falling or passing out, which is related to a strong concern for injury.
